Key Facts

• £10 billion of public money was written off due to ineffective PPE procurement.
• Companies in the VIP lane were ten times more likely to win contracts during the pandemic.
• Amendment 117 aims to include specific actors who may indirectly influence procurement decisions.
• Amendment 116 is considered impractically broad.
• Clause 80 sets out obligations for identifying conflicts of interest.
• Clause 81 outlines duties to mitigate conflicts of interest.
• Clause 82 places specific duties on contracting authorities regarding conflicts assessments.
• Clause 83 defines regulated below-threshold contracts.
• Clause 84 prevents burdensome pre-qualification questionnaires that screen out suppliers.
• Clause 85 imposes a duty on contracting authorities to consider SME participation.
• Clause 86 requires publishing tender notices for certain procurements.
• Details of contract winners and values must be published on the central platform within a reasonable timeframe after contracts are entered into.
• Payment terms for below-threshold regulated contracts are set at 30 days.
• The UK is party to 24 international procurement agreements listed in schedule 9.
• Clause 88 identifies suppliers from treaty states entitled to benefit from these agreements.
• Separate primary legislation is required for implementing rule changes that might affect food, environmental standards or health service control.
• Defence Committee concluded the Army would be 'hopelessly under-equipped' in March 2021.
• UK-Australia and UK-New Zealand free trade agreements commit to fair, transparent selection processes for suppliers.
• Bluetree Group in Wath upon Dearne aims to become net zero by 2035.
• The Procurement Bill aims to confer power for implementing international procurement agreements through secondary legislation.
• Clause 90 includes an amendment allowing UK Ministers or Scottish Ministers to consider regulations necessary for ratifying international agreements.
• Amendment 102 proposes that a UK Minister must acquire the consent of Scottish Ministers before acting under clause 90.
• The Procurement Bill does not confer decision-making rights for Scotland on Members of Parliament.
• Amendment 102 proposed by the hon. Member for Aberdeen North is rejected in favor of Government amendment 59.
• Clause 90 allows regulations only if a Minister of the Crown or Scottish Ministers considers them necessary to ratify or comply with an international agreement.
• Contracting authorities must publish pipeline notices if they reasonably expect to pay over £100 million under relevant contracts.
• Pipeline notices set out public contracts worth more than £2 million with an estimated value, providing advance notice within 56 days of the financial year start.
• Exemptions for withholding information include national security and sensitive commercial interests, subject to a public interest test for sensitive commercial information.
• Clause 93 grants power to set regulations on form, content, and place of published information, allowing flexibility in tailoring transparency obligations over time.
• Amendment 62 limits the free-of-charge obligation beyond contract entry.
• Amendment 61, 63, and 64 ensure the clause applies only to covered procurement.
• The amendments address concerns about inhibiting common practices in utilities dynamic markets and secure systems.
• Clause 95 requires contracting authorities to use a central digital platform for information sharing.
• The register of suppliers will allow 'tell us once' data submission across the public sector.
• Clause 96 ensures the Bill does not contravene the Data Protection Act 2018.
• Clause 97 allows suppliers to hold contracting authorities accountable through civil proceedings if they suffer loss due to non-compliance.
• Government amendment 65 ensures that claims on grounds eligible for debarment appeals cannot be brought under part 9 of the Bill.
• Clause 98 introduces automatic suspension, preventing contract proceeding until legal challenges are resolved.
• Clause 99 outlines interim remedies applicable before the determination of any legal claim.
• Clause 100 deals with pre-contractual remedies for suppliers seeking fair opportunities to bid.
• Clause 103 sets timescales for raising claims under the Bill, ranging from 30 days to six months depending on the nature of the breach.
• Clause 104 enables Ministers or relevant authorities to investigate contracting authorities’ compliance with procurement requirements.
• Clause 105 allows for statutory recommendations following an investigation if a breach of the Bill's requirements is identified.
• Clause 106 permits issuing statutory guidance to wider contracting authorities based on lessons from specific investigations.
• The clauses concern oversight of procurement compliance.
• The Green Paper proposed a new unit with independent panel experts to oversee public procurement.
• The Bill does not mention a procurement review unit and refers only to an “appropriate authority”.